EP2860542B1 - Method for measuring three-dimensional magnetic fields - Google Patents
Method for measuring three-dimensional magnetic fields Download PDFInfo
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- EP2860542B1 EP2860542B1 EP13290243.8A EP13290243A EP2860542B1 EP 2860542 B1 EP2860542 B1 EP 2860542B1 EP 13290243 A EP13290243 A EP 13290243A EP 2860542 B1 EP2860542 B1 EP 2860542B1
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- 230000005291 magnetic effect Effects 0.000 title claims description 174
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims description 26
- 230000005415 magnetization Effects 0.000 claims description 99
- 238000009738 saturating Methods 0.000 claims description 20
- 230000004888 barrier function Effects 0.000 claims description 10
- 230000035945 sensitivity Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000011088 calibration curve Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 229920006395 saturated elastomer Polymers 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000005294 ferromagnetic effect Effects 0.000 description 7
- 230000005290 antiferromagnetic effect Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000003860 storage Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 3
- 229910052742 iron Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 229910052763 palladium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 229910052697 platinum Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 229910018936 CoPd Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910018979 CoPt Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052692 Dysprosium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910015187 FePd Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910005335 FePt Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052689 Holmium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052779 Neodymium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052772 Samarium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000000956 alloy Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910045601 alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 238000000137 annealing Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910052733 gallium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052748 manganese Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000003647 oxidation Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000007254 oxidation reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 125000006850 spacer group Chemical group 0.000 description 2
- 229910017107 AlOx Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000000903 blocking effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052804 chromium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052802 copper Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052737 gold Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052735 hafnium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052759 nickel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052758 niobium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052709 silver Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052715 tantalum Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052719 titanium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052720 vanadium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- G01R33/00—Arrangements or instruments for measuring magnetic variables
- G01R33/02—Measuring direction or magnitude of magnetic fields or magnetic flux
- G01R33/06—Measuring direction or magnitude of magnetic fields or magnetic flux using galvano-magnetic devices
- G01R33/09—Magnetoresistive devices
- G01R33/098—Magnetoresistive devices comprising tunnel junctions, e.g. tunnel magnetoresistance sensors
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- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11C—STATIC STORES
- G11C11/00—Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor
- G11C11/02—Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using magnetic elements
- G11C11/16—Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using magnetic elements using elements in which the storage effect is based on magnetic spin effect
- G11C11/165—Auxiliary circuits
- G11C11/1673—Reading or sensing circuits or methods
Definitions
- the present disclosure concerns a magnetic sensor cell having a magnetic tunnel junction that can sense a magnetic field component perpendicular to the plane of the magnetic tunnel junction and a magnetic field component parallel to the plane of the magnetic tunnel junction.
- the disclosure further concerns a method for sensing the magnetic field components perpendicular and parallel to the plane of the tunnel junction.
- Fig. 1 represents a cross section view ( Fig. 1 a ) and a top view ( Fig. 1 b ) of a magnetic sensor cell 1 according to an embodiment.
- the magnetic sensor cell 1 comprises a magnetic tunnel junction 2 including a reference layer 23 having a reference magnetization 230, a sense layer 21 having a sense magnetization 210 and a tunnel barrier layer 22 between the sense layer 21 and the reference layer 23.
- a current line 3 is in electrical contact with one extremity of the magnetic tunnel junction 2.
- the magnetic sensor cell 1 further comprises a field line 4 adapted for passing a field current 41 such as to generate a sense magnetic field 42.
- the reference magnetization 230 and the sense magnetization 210 are oriented parallel to the plane of the reference and sense layers 21, 23.
- the read magnetic field 42 is used for aligning the sense magnetization parallel or antiparallel to the reference magnetization.
- the sense layer 21 should have a linear and non-hysteretic behavior with respect to the applied field 42, when measured along the pinned reference layer direction.
- the linear sensing is usually achieved by having the sense magnetization 210 being perpendicular to the reference magnetization 230. This can be achieved by pinning the reference magnetization 230 perpendicular to the anisotropy axis of the sense layer 21.
- the anisotropy axis of the sense layer 21 lies parallel to the plane of the sense and reference layers 21, 23.
- Self-referenced magnetic tunnel junctions thus allow for measuring the magnetic field in two directions parallel to the plane of the sense and reference layers. Any component of the magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer cannot be detected.
- US2010140726 discloses a method and system for providing a magnetic element are described.
- the magnetic element includes pinned and free layers, a nonmagnetic spacer layer between the free and pinned layers, and a stability structure.
- the free layer is between the spacer layer and the stability structure.
- the free layer has a free layer magnetization, at least one free layer easy axis, and at least one hard axis.
- the stability structure includes magnetic layers and is configured to decrease a first magnetic energy corresponding to the free layer magnetization being aligned with the at least one easy axis without decreasing a second magnetic energy corresponding to the free layer magnetization being aligned with the at least one hard axis.
- the magnetic element is configured to allow the free layer magnetization to be switched to between states when a write current is passed through the magnetic element.
- the present disclosure concerns a method for sensing an external magnetic field using a magnetic sensor cell comprising: a magnetic tunnel junction including a reference layer having a reference magnetization oriented substantially parallel to the plane of the reference layer, a sense layer having a sense magnetization, and a tunnel barrier layer between the sense and reference layers; and a field line configured for passing a field current for providing a sense magnetic field adapted for aligning the sense magnetization; the sense layer magnetization being orientable between a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer and a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer when the sense magnetic field is provided; the external magnetic field comprising an in-plane component oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer and an out-of-plane component perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer; the method comprising: sensing the out-of-plane component; and sensing the in-plane component, wherein the step of sensing the out-of-plane component comprises determining the exclusive magnitude of the out-of-plane component.
- the sense magnetization is initially oriented perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer; and said sensing the out-of-plane component comprises passing the field current for providing the sense magnetic field with a parallel component parallel to the plane of the sense layer such as to align the sense magnetization from its initial direction to an aligned direction being at least partly oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer.
- the sense magnetization is initially oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer; and said sensing the out-of-plane component comprises passing the field current for providing the sense magnetic field with a perpendicular component perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer such as to saturate the sense magnetization from its initial direction to a saturated direction being oriented perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer.
- An advantage of the magnetic sensor cell is that the sense magnetization is always aligned perpendicular to the reference magnetization in the absence of magnetic field. During the sense operation, the measured signal is linear and has no hysteresis.
- the method allows for measuring all component of space of an external magnetic field.
- Fig. 2 represents a cross section view ( Fig. 2a ) and a top view ( Fig. 2b ) of a magnetic sensor cell 1 according to an embodiment.
- the magnetic sensor cell 1 comprises a magnetic tunnel junction 2 including a reference layer 23 having a reference magnetization 230 oriented substantially parallel to the plane of the reference layer 23, a sense layer 21 having a sense magnetization 210 and a tunnel barrier layer 22 between the sense layer 21 and the reference layer 23.
- the magnetic sensor cell 1 further comprises a field line 4 adapted for passing a field current 41 in a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21.
- a sense magnetic field 42 is generated by passing the field current 41 in the field line 4 with a direction being determined by the polarity of the field current 41.
- the field current 41 is shown entering the page such that the sense magnetic field 42 has a parallel component 421 parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 and directed towards the right.
- the sense layer magnetization 210 is orientable between a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 (in-plane) and a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 (out-of-plane) when the sense magnetic field 42 is generated, or in the presence of the external magnetic field 45 or of any other external magnetic field.
- the sense layer 21 can have a higher susceptibility when an external magnetic field is applied perpendicularly to the plane of the sense layer 21 than when it is applied parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21.
- the external magnetic field can be any magnetic field applied to the magnetic tunnel junction 2 also including the sense magnetic field 42.
- the susceptibility of the sense layer 21 is such that the sense magnetization 210 can be oriented from a direction out-of-plane to a direction in-plane by using the external magnetic field 42 having a magnitude that is lower than 150Oe while providing a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of the magnetic tunnel junction 2 being higher than 30%.
- TMR tunnel magnetoresistance
- the sense magnetization 210 in the absence of magnetic field is initially oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 (see Fig. 2 ).
- Fig. 3 reports a magnetic hysteresis loops measured for the sense layer 21 of Fig. 2 when the magnetic field (noted as H in Fig. 3 ) is applied in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 (curve 2) and when the external magnetic field H is applied in a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 (curve 1).
- the steeper slope in the first case (curve 2) reflects the out-of-plane magnetization of the sense layer 21.
- the sense magnetization 210 in another embodiment shown in Fig. 11 , in the absence of an external magnetic field the sense magnetization 210 is initially oriented substantially parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21.
- the sense layer 21 can have a perpendicular anisotropy such that the sense magnetization 210 can be oriented out-of-plane when the sense magnetic field 42 is applied perpendicularly to the plane of the sense layer 21 with a field lower than 4 ⁇ M s , where M s denotes the saturation magnetization of the sense layer 21.
- the sense magnetic field 42 has a perpendicular component 422 perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21.
- Fig. 4 reports a magnetic hysteresis loops measured for the sense layer 21 when an external magnetic field H is applied in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 (curve 1) and when the external magnetic field (noted as H in Fig. 4 ) is applied in a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 (curve 2).
- the saturation field of about 30 Oe for curve 1 shows that the sense magnetization 210 presents a perpendicular anisotropy component that reduces the saturation field to a value below 4 ⁇ M S , where 4 ⁇ M S is the saturation field of the sense magnetization 210 that does not have any perpendicular anisotropy component.
- the sense layer 21 can comprises a material including any one of or a combination of Fe, Co, Ni, Tb, Pt, Pd, Al, Dy, Ga, Mn, Ho, Nd or Sm, FePt, FePd, CoPt, CoPd, GdFeCo, TbFeCo, GaMn, GeMn or AlMn.
- the sense layer 21 comprising the material can have a thickness comprised between 0.2 nm and 50 nm.
- the sense layer 21 can comprise a ferromagnetic layer 211 and a non-magnetic layer 212.
- the sense ferromagnetic layer 211 can include any one of Co, Fe or Ni or an alloy comprising any one or a combination of these elements.
- the sense ferromagnetic layer 211 can have a thickness that is comprised between 0.2 nm and 5 nm.
- the non-magnetic layer 212 can comprise any one of Pt, Pd, Ta, Hf, Nb, Cr, V, Cu, Au, Ti, Ag, Ru, W or an alloy comprising any one or a combination of these elements.
- non-magnetic layer 212 can be made of any oxide or oxi-nitride such as MgO or AlOx.
- the tunnel barrier 22 comprises an oxide having an oxidation state being adjusted such that the sense layer 21 has a perpendicular anisotropy.
- the magnetic sensor cell 1 can be programmed by switching the reference magnetization 230 in a predetermined direction in the plane of the reference layer 23 (see Fig. 2 ).
- the programming operation can be thermally assisted wherein the programming operation further comprises a step of heating the magnetic tunnel junction 2 to a high temperature threshold.
- the magnetic tunnel junction 2 can comprises an antiferromagnetic layer (not shown) pinning the reference magnetization at a low temperature threshold and freeing it at the high temperature threshold. Heating the magnetic tunnel junction 2 at the the high temperature threshold can be performed by passing a heating current 32 in the magnetic tunnel junction 2 via a current line 3.
- the magnetic tunnel junction 2 can be cooled to the low temperature threshold such as to pin the reference magnetization 230 in the switched state.
- a method for sensing an external magnetic field 45 comprising an in-plane component 451 oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 and an out-of-plane component perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 using the magnetic sensor cell 1 comprises the steps of sensing the in-plane component 451; and sensing the out-of-plane component 452.
- Sensing the in-plane component 451 can be performed using a conventional differential read operation.
- the sensing operation can comprise passing the field current 41 having an alternating polarity into the field line 4 such as to alternate the sense magnetization 210 between a direction substantially parallel and antiparallel to the reference layer magnetization 230.
- the alternating field current 41 can be such that the orientation of the sense magnetization 210 is alternated without being switched completely in the parallel or antiparallel direction.
- the in-plane component 451 is then sensed by measuring the resistance R (or voltage) of the magnetic tunnel junction 2 as a function of the field current 41.
- Such sensing operation is described in more details in patent application US2013241536 by the present applicant.
- Sensing the out-of-plane component 452 depends on the initial orientation of the sense magnetization 210.
- sensing the out-of-plane component 452 comprises passing the field current 41 in the field line 4 such that to align the sense magnetization 210 from its initial direction to an aligned direction being at least partly oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 (i.e., parallel or antiparallel to the reference magnetization 230).
- the field current 41 enters the page such that the magnetic field 42 is directed towards the right hand side of the page such that the sense magnetization will be aligned by the magnetic field 42 in the same direction as the reference magnetization 230.
- the value of the field current 41 required for saturating the sense magnetization 210 is proportional to the norm of the out-of-plane component 452. Consequently, the values of the field current 41 required for saturating the sense magnetization 210 in the directions parallel and antiparallel to the reference magnetization 230 can be used for determining the norm of the out-of-plane component 452. In that case, it is required to fully saturate the sense layer magnetization 210 parallel and/or antiparallel to the reference magnetization 230.
- sensing the out-of-plane component 452 can comprise measuring a resistance R of the magnetic tunnel junction 2 and determining a slope of the measured resistance R as a function of the read field current 41; and determining the magnitude of the out-of-plane component 452 using the determined slope.
- the sense magnetization 210 can be aligned partly oriented parallel or antiparallel to the reference magnetization 230.
- Fig. 6 shows the variation of the resistance R of the magnetic tunnel junction 2 as a function of the field current 41 for three different magnitude of the out-of-plane component 452 (corresponding to three different sense magnetizations 210 oriented out-of-plane).
- the dashed line corresponds to the case of the largest out-of-plane component 452 having the highest field current 41 required for saturating the sense magnetization 210 (or saturating current i S2 ).
- the dotted line corresponds to the magnetic tunnel junction 2 sensing a smaller out-of-plane component 452 and has a lower saturating current i S1 .
- the plain line corresponds to the magnetic tunnel where the out-of-plane component 452 is null and has the lowest saturating current i S0 . However, the value of the field current 41 does not allow determining the direction of the out-of-plane component 452.
- the magnetic tunnel junction 2 further comprises a bias layer 25 having a bias magnetization 250 oriented out-of-plane, i.e., perpendicular to the plane of the bias layer 25 (and thus to the plane of the sense layer 21).
- the bias layer 25 generates a bias magnetic field 252 on the sense layer 21, also oriented perpendicular to the sense layer 21 plane.
- the bias layer 25 can comprise any one of or a combination of Fe, Co, Ni, Tb, Pt, Pd, Al, Dy, Ga, Mn, Ho, Nd or Sm, FePt, FePd, CoPt, CoPd, GdFeCo, TbFeCo, GaMn, GeMn or AlMn.
- the bias layer 25 can comprise the ferromagnetic layer 211 and the non-magnetic layer 212 as described above.
- the bias layer 25 can further comprise an insulating layer 213.
- the bias layer 25 should have an anisotropy as large as possible and have an hysteresis loop that present a significant remnant magnetization in the out-of-plane direction.
- the bias magnetization 250 can be oriented out-of-plane during the fabrication of the magnetic tunnel junction 2, for example, by applying a magnetic field perpendicularly to the bias layer 25 when depositing the bias layer 25, or during the annealing of the stack, or after annealing the stack.
- the bias layer 25 can be further pinned by an antiferromagnetic layer 26. In that case, the perpendicular magnetic field is applied when the magnetic tunnel junction is heated at a temperature lying above the blocking temperature of the antiferromagnetic layer 26.
- the value of the field current 41 required for saturating the sense magnetization 210 in the aligned orientation is increased compared to the case where the bias magnetic field 252 is null.
- the value of the saturation current is is decreased compared to the case where the bias magnetic field 252 is null.
- Fig. 7 shows the variation of the resistance R of the magnetic tunnel junction 2 as a function of the field current 41 for three different perpendicular components 452 for the magnetic tunnel junction 2 of Fig. 5 .
- the dashed line with the highest saturating current i S2 corresponds to the case where the perpendicular component 452 is parallel to the bias magnetic field 252.
- the dotted line with the lowest saturating current i S1 corresponds to the case where the perpendicular component 452 is antiparallel to the bias magnetic field 252.
- the plain line corresponding to the perpendicular component 452 being null exhibits an intermediate value of the saturating current i S0 .
- Figs. 8 and 9 show the relation between the absolute value of the saturation current is as a function of the out-of-plane component 452 (represented by the symbol H ⁇ in Figs. 8 and 9 ) in the absence of the bias layer 25 ( Fig. 8 ) and in the presence of the bias magnetic field 252 ( Fig. 9 ).
- Fig. 8 shows the relation between the absolute value of the saturation current is as a function of the out-of-plane component 452 (represented by the symbol H ⁇ in Figs. 8 and 9 ) in the absence of the bias layer 25 ( Fig. 8 ) and in the presence of the bias magnetic field 252 ( Fig. 9 ).
- the minimum value of the saturation current is corresponds to the out-of-plane component 452 being
- H ⁇ bias bias magnetic field 252
- the direction and the magnitude of the out-of-plane component 452 can be determined by comparing the saturating current is with a calibrated value of the calibration curve.
- the direction of the out-of-plane component 452 can be determined when the out-of-plane component 452 has a magnitude that is lower than the magnitude of the bias magnetic field 252.
- the out-of-plane component 452 is preferably measured prior to the measurement of the in-plane component 451, so that the change of sensitivity due to the out-of-plane component is known. That allows sensing the in-plane component 451 using a calibration curve relating the change of sensitivity as a function of the out-of-plane component 452.
- sensing the in-plane component 451 can further comprise passing the field current 41 for saturating the sense layer magnetization 210 with a first polarity; passing the field current 41 for saturating the sense layer magnetization 210 with a second polarity opposed to the first polarity; and determining the difference between the field current 41 having the first and second polarity.
- the composition and thickness of the non-magnetic layer 212 and ferromagnetic layer 211 can be adjusted such as to vary the value of the saturating current is.
- the value of the saturating current is can be further varied by adjusting the oxidation state of the insulating layer 213 or of the non-magnetic layer 212.
- the insulating layer 213 can be used as a tunnel barrier.
- the insulating layer 213 can replace the tunnel barrier layer 22 of Fig. 2 .
- the tunnel barrier layer 22, or insulating layer 213 should be in contact with the sense layer 21.
- the composition and thickness of the barrier tunnel 22 can be adjusted such as to vary the value of the saturating current is.
- the sense magnetization 210 is initially oriented in-plane and parallel or antiparallel to the reference magnetization 230.
- Sensing the out-of-plane component 452 can comprise passing the field current 41 in the field line 4 such as to align the sense magnetization 210 from its initial direction to a substantially aligned direction being oriented out-of-plane.
- Sensing the out-of-plane component 452 can further comprise measuring an intermediate resistance Rint of the magnetic tunnel junction 2 and determining the current 41 required to saturate the sense magnetization 210 in the aligned direction.
- the intermediate resistance Rint corresponds to the sense magnetization 210 being oriented out-of-plane, i.e., perpendicular to the storage magnetization 230.
- the intermediate resistance Rint is equal to (Rmin+Rmax)/2, where Rmin and Rmax is the resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction 2 when the sense magnetization is oriented, respectively, parallel and antiparallel to the storage magnetization 230.
- the field line 4 comprises a first line portion 4' adapted for passing a first field current portion 41' and a second line portion 4" for passing a second field current portion 41".
- the first and second field current portion 41', 41" are arranged in a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21. In this configuration, the sense magnetic field 42 is generated by the first and second field current portions 41', 41".
- the first field current portion 41' and the second field current portion 41" have the same polarity.
- the sense magnetic field 42 generated by the first and second field current portions 41', 41" having the same polarity comprises only the parallel component 421.
- the first field current portion 41' has a polarity being opposed to the one of the second field current portion 41". Passing the first field current portion 41' with a magnitude being equal to the one of the second field current portion 41" results in the sense magnetic field 42 having only the perpendicular component 422 (see Fig. 11).
- Fig. 12 shows the sense magnetic field 42 having the parallel component 421 and the perpendicular component 422 when the first field current portion 41' has a magnitude that differs from the one of the second field current portion 41".
- the magnitude of the first field current portion 41' is larger than the one of the second field current portion 41" and the parallel component 421 is directed toward the right (the sense magnetic field 42 is oriented oblique towards the right).
- An advantage of the external magnetic field 42 having a parallel and perpendicular component 421, 422 is that the in-plane component 451 can be measured with improved sensitivity, independently of the magnitude of the magnitude of the perpendicular component 452.
- the out-of-plane component 452 can be sensed using the method described above.
- the first and second field current portions 41' and 41" can be adjusted so that, , in the absence of the bias layer 25, the perpendicular component 422 has an amplitude that is substantially equal to the perpendicular component 452 but is oriented in a direction opposite to the one of the perpendicular component 452 such as to cancel out the perpendicular component 452.
- the perpendicular component 422 has an amplitude that is substantially equal to the sum of the bias field 252 and the perpendicular component 452 and is oriented in a direction opposite to the one of the sum of the bias field 252 and the perpendicular component 452 such as to cancel out the perpendicular component 452 and the bias field 252.
- the in-plane component 421 can thus be sensed by adjusting the sense currents 41 and 41' such that the in-plane component 421 alternatively aligns the sense magnetization 210 in a direction substantially parallel and antiparallel to the reference magnetization 230 using the self-reference read operation described above.
- the field line 4 further comprises a third field line portion 4"' arranged for passing a third field current portion 41'''.
- the sense magnetic field 42 is generated by the first, second and third field current portions 41', 41", 41"'.
- the first field current portions 41' is passed with a polarity being opposed to the one of the second and third field current portions 41", 41"' such that the sense magnetic field 42 has a non-null parallel component 421 and perpendicular component 422.
- a magnetic sensor device 100 can comprise a plurality of the magnetic sensor cell 1 arranged in an array of rows and columns.
- the magnetic sensor device 100 comprises a plurality of the field line portions 4', 4" arranged parallel to the rows or columns such that a row or column of magnetic sensor cells 1 is addressed by two adjacent field line portions 4', 4".
- Each of said two adjacent field line portions 4', 4" are arranged such that the field current 41 can be passed independently in one of said two adjacent field line portions 4', 4" and in the other of said two adjacent field line portions 4', 4".
- each field line portion 4', 4" can be addressed independently via commutation means, illustrated as transistors 8.
- One of said two adjacent field line portions 4', 4" is arranged for passing a first field current portion 41' with a first polarity and the other of said two adjacent field line portions 4" is arranged for passing a second field current portion 41" with second polarity, opposed to the first polarity, such as to generate the sense magnetic field 42 directed perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21; or being the same as the first polarity such as to generate the sense magnetic field 42 directed parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21.
- the two adjacent field line portions 4', 4" are electrically connected in series via a commutation means, here a conductive line branch in series with a transistor 9 such that the first and second field current portions 41', 41" can be passed respectively in the two adjacent field lines 4', 4" with the same polarity, or with opposed polarity.
- a commutation means here a conductive line branch in series with a transistor 9 such that the first and second field current portions 41', 41" can be passed respectively in the two adjacent field lines 4', 4" with the same polarity, or with opposed polarity.
- a third field line portion 4'" extends parallel to the first and second field line portions 4', 4".
- the first and second field current portions 41', 41" can be passed respectively in the two adjacent field lines 4', 4" with opposed polarities such as to generate the sense magnetic field 42 directed perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21.
- a third field current portion 41"' can be passed in the third field line portions 4'" such as to generate the sense magnetic field 42 directed parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21.
- a first portion of the sensor device 100 array comprises a subset of the plurality of the sensor cell 1 arranged for sensing the out-of-plane component 452, and a second portion of the sensor device 100 array comprises another subset of the plurality of the sensor cell 1 arranged for sensing the in-plane component 451.
- the sensor cells 1 in the second subset are turned at 90° compared to the sensor cells 1 comprised in the first subset.
- the expression "turned at 90°” means that the sensor cell 1 is turned with an angle of about 90° about a longitudinal axis 11 (see Fig. 2 ). In the configuration of Fig.
- the storage magnetization 230 and the direction of the sense magnetization 42 (the parallel component 421) of the sensor cells 1 in the second subset will be oriented at about 90° with respect to the storage magnetization 230 and sense magnetization 42 of the sensor cells 1 in the first subset.
- the in-plane component of the external magnetic field 45 comprise a component 451' oriented in the plane of the in-plane component 451 but perpendicular to it (see Fig. 2 )
- the component 451' can be measured by the sensor cells 1 in the second subset and the component 451 can be measured by the sensor cells 1 in the first subset.
- the in-plane component 451, 451' can be measured by using the differential read operation described above.
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Description
- The present disclosure concerns a magnetic sensor cell having a magnetic tunnel junction that can sense a magnetic field component perpendicular to the plane of the magnetic tunnel junction and a magnetic field component parallel to the plane of the magnetic tunnel junction. The disclosure further concerns a method for sensing the magnetic field components perpendicular and parallel to the plane of the tunnel junction.
- Self-referenced magnetic tunnel junctions can be used to sense magnetic fields, in magnetic sensors or compasses.
Fig. 1 represents a cross section view (Fig. 1 a ) and a top view (Fig. 1 b ) of amagnetic sensor cell 1 according to an embodiment. Themagnetic sensor cell 1 comprises amagnetic tunnel junction 2 including areference layer 23 having areference magnetization 230, asense layer 21 having asense magnetization 210 and atunnel barrier layer 22 between thesense layer 21 and thereference layer 23. Acurrent line 3 is in electrical contact with one extremity of themagnetic tunnel junction 2. Themagnetic sensor cell 1 further comprises afield line 4 adapted for passing afield current 41 such as to generate a sensemagnetic field 42. Thereference magnetization 230 and thesense magnetization 210 are oriented parallel to the plane of the reference andsense layers - During a read operation, the read
magnetic field 42 is used for aligning the sense magnetization parallel or antiparallel to the reference magnetization. - Ideally, the
sense layer 21 should have a linear and non-hysteretic behavior with respect to theapplied field 42, when measured along the pinned reference layer direction. The linear sensing is usually achieved by having thesense magnetization 210 being perpendicular to thereference magnetization 230. This can be achieved by pinning thereference magnetization 230 perpendicular to the anisotropy axis of thesense layer 21. The anisotropy axis of thesense layer 21 lies parallel to the plane of the sense andreference layers - Self-referenced magnetic tunnel junctions thus allow for measuring the magnetic field in two directions parallel to the plane of the sense and reference layers. Any component of the magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer cannot be detected.
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US2010140726 discloses a method and system for providing a magnetic element are described. The magnetic element includes pinned and free layers, a nonmagnetic spacer layer between the free and pinned layers, and a stability structure. The free layer is between the spacer layer and the stability structure. The free layer has a free layer magnetization, at least one free layer easy axis, and at least one hard axis. The stability structure includes magnetic layers and is configured to decrease a first magnetic energy corresponding to the free layer magnetization being aligned with the at least one easy axis without decreasing a second magnetic energy corresponding to the free layer magnetization being aligned with the at least one hard axis. The magnetic element is configured to allow the free layer magnetization to be switched to between states when a write current is passed through the magnetic element. - The present disclosure concerns a method for sensing an external magnetic field using a magnetic sensor cell comprising: a magnetic tunnel junction including a reference layer having a reference magnetization oriented substantially parallel to the plane of the reference layer, a sense layer having a sense magnetization, and a tunnel barrier layer between the sense and reference layers; and a field line configured for passing a field current for providing a sense magnetic field adapted for aligning the sense magnetization; the sense layer magnetization being orientable between a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer and a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer when the sense magnetic field is provided; the external magnetic field comprising an in-plane component oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer and an out-of-plane component perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer; the method comprising: sensing the out-of-plane component; and sensing the in-plane component, wherein the step of sensing the out-of-plane component comprises determining the exclusive magnitude of the out-of-plane component.
- In an embodiment, the sense magnetization is initially oriented perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer; and said sensing the out-of-plane component comprises passing the field current for providing the sense magnetic field with a parallel component parallel to the plane of the sense layer such as to align the sense magnetization from its initial direction to an aligned direction being at least partly oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer.
- In an embodiment, the sense magnetization is initially oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer; and said sensing the out-of-plane component comprises passing the field current for providing the sense magnetic field with a perpendicular component perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer such as to saturate the sense magnetization from its initial direction to a saturated direction being oriented perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer.
- An advantage of the magnetic sensor cell is that the sense magnetization is always aligned perpendicular to the reference magnetization in the absence of magnetic field. During the sense operation, the measured signal is linear and has no hysteresis.
- The method allows for measuring all component of space of an external magnetic field.
- The disclosure will be better understood with the aid of the description of an embodiment given by way of example and illustrated by the figures, in which:
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Fig. 1 represents a cross section view (a) and a top view (b) of a conventional magnetic sensor cell comprising a magnetic tunnel junction with a sense layer having a sense magnetization; -
Fig. 2 represents a cross section view (a) and a top view (b) of a magnetic sensor cell comprising a magnetic tunnel junction with a sense layer having a sense magnetization, according to an embodiment; -
Fig. 3 reports a magnetic hysteresis loops measured for the sense layer ofFig. 2 , according to an embodiment; -
Fig. 4 reports a magnetic hysteresis loops measured for the sense layer ofFig. 2 , according to another embodiment; -
Fig. 5 represents a cross section view of the magnetic sensor cell, according to another embodiment; -
Fig. 6 shows the variation of the resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction ofFig. 2 as a function of a field current for three different perpendicular to the sense layer plane magnetic field components, according to an embodiment; -
Fig. 7 shows the variation in the of the resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction ofFig. 5 as a function of a field current for three different perpendicular to the sense layer plane magnetic field components, according to another embodiment; -
Fig. 8 represents the relation between the absolute value of a saturation current as a function of the perpendicular to the sense layer plane magnetic field components, according to an embodiment; -
Fig. 9 represents the relation between the absolute value of a saturation current as a function of the perpendicular component of an external field, according to another embodiment; -
Fig. 10 shows the magnetic sensor cell wherein the field line comprises a first line portion and a second line portion, according to an embodiment; -
Fig. 11 shows the magnetic sensor cell ofFig. 10 , according to another embodiment; -
Fig. 12 shows the magnetic sensor cell ofFig. 10 , according to yet another embodiment; -
Fig. 13 shows the magnetic sensor cell ofFig. 10 further comprising a third line portion; -
Fig. 14 represents a magnetic sensor device comprising a plurality of the magnetic sensor cell, according to an embodiment; -
Fig. 15 represents the magnetic sensor device, according to another embodiment; -
Fig. 16 represents the magnetic sensor device, according to yet another embodiment; and -
Fig. 17 shows the sense layer according, to an embodiment. -
Fig. 2 represents a cross section view (Fig. 2a ) and a top view (Fig. 2b ) of amagnetic sensor cell 1 according to an embodiment. Themagnetic sensor cell 1 comprises amagnetic tunnel junction 2 including areference layer 23 having areference magnetization 230 oriented substantially parallel to the plane of thereference layer 23, asense layer 21 having asense magnetization 210 and atunnel barrier layer 22 between thesense layer 21 and thereference layer 23. Themagnetic sensor cell 1 further comprises afield line 4 adapted for passing afield current 41 in a direction parallel to the plane of thesense layer 21. A sensemagnetic field 42 is generated by passing thefield current 41 in thefield line 4 with a direction being determined by the polarity of thefield current 41. In the example ofFig. 2 , thefield current 41 is shown entering the page such that the sensemagnetic field 42 has aparallel component 421 parallel to the plane of thesense layer 21 and directed towards the right. - In an embodiment, the
sense layer magnetization 210 is orientable between a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 (in-plane) and a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 (out-of-plane) when the sensemagnetic field 42 is generated, or in the presence of the externalmagnetic field 45 or of any other external magnetic field. - The
sense layer 21 can have a higher susceptibility when an external magnetic field is applied perpendicularly to the plane of thesense layer 21 than when it is applied parallel to the plane of thesense layer 21. Here, the external magnetic field can be any magnetic field applied to themagnetic tunnel junction 2 also including the sensemagnetic field 42. Preferably, the susceptibility of thesense layer 21 is such that thesense magnetization 210 can be oriented from a direction out-of-plane to a direction in-plane by using the externalmagnetic field 42 having a magnitude that is lower than 150Oe while providing a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of themagnetic tunnel junction 2 being higher than 30%. - In an embodiment, in the absence of magnetic field the
sense magnetization 210 is initially oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 (seeFig. 2 ). -
Fig. 3 reports a magnetic hysteresis loops measured for thesense layer 21 ofFig. 2 when the magnetic field (noted as H inFig. 3 ) is applied in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 (curve 2) and when the external magnetic field H is applied in a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 (curve 1). The steeper slope in the first case (curve 2) reflects the out-of-plane magnetization of thesense layer 21. - In another embodiment shown in
Fig. 11 , in the absence of an external magnetic field thesense magnetization 210 is initially oriented substantially parallel to the plane of thesense layer 21. Thesense layer 21 can have a perpendicular anisotropy such that thesense magnetization 210 can be oriented out-of-plane when the sensemagnetic field 42 is applied perpendicularly to the plane of thesense layer 21 with a field lower than 4πMs, where Ms denotes the saturation magnetization of thesense layer 21. InFig. 11 , the sensemagnetic field 42 has aperpendicular component 422 perpendicular to the plane of thesense layer 21. -
Fig. 4 reports a magnetic hysteresis loops measured for thesense layer 21 when an external magnetic field H is applied in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer 21 (curve 1) and when the external magnetic field (noted as H inFig. 4 ) is applied in a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 (curve 2). The saturation field of about 30 Oe forcurve 1 shows that thesense magnetization 210 presents a perpendicular anisotropy component that reduces the saturation field to a value below 4πMS, where 4πMS is the saturation field of thesense magnetization 210 that does not have any perpendicular anisotropy component. - The
sense layer 21 can comprises a material including any one of or a combination of Fe, Co, Ni, Tb, Pt, Pd, Al, Dy, Ga, Mn, Ho, Nd or Sm, FePt, FePd, CoPt, CoPd, GdFeCo, TbFeCo, GaMn, GeMn or AlMn. In this configuration, thesense layer 21 comprising the material can have a thickness comprised between 0.2 nm and 50 nm. - As shown in
Fig. 17 , thesense layer 21 can comprise aferromagnetic layer 211 and anon-magnetic layer 212. The senseferromagnetic layer 211 can include any one of Co, Fe or Ni or an alloy comprising any one or a combination of these elements. The senseferromagnetic layer 211 can have a thickness that is comprised between 0.2 nm and 5 nm. Thenon-magnetic layer 212 can comprise any one of Pt, Pd, Ta, Hf, Nb, Cr, V, Cu, Au, Ti, Ag, Ru, W or an alloy comprising any one or a combination of these elements. Alternatively,non-magnetic layer 212 can be made of any oxide or oxi-nitride such as MgO or AlOx. - In an embodiment, the
tunnel barrier 22 comprises an oxide having an oxidation state being adjusted such that thesense layer 21 has a perpendicular anisotropy. - The
magnetic sensor cell 1 can be programmed by switching thereference magnetization 230 in a predetermined direction in the plane of the reference layer 23 (seeFig. 2 ). The programming operation can be thermally assisted wherein the programming operation further comprises a step of heating themagnetic tunnel junction 2 to a high temperature threshold. To that end, themagnetic tunnel junction 2 can comprises an antiferromagnetic layer (not shown) pinning the reference magnetization at a low temperature threshold and freeing it at the high temperature threshold. Heating themagnetic tunnel junction 2 at the the high temperature threshold can be performed by passing a heating current 32 in themagnetic tunnel junction 2 via acurrent line 3. After switching thereference magnetization 230, themagnetic tunnel junction 2 can be cooled to the low temperature threshold such as to pin thereference magnetization 230 in the switched state. - According to an embodiment, a method for sensing an external
magnetic field 45 comprising an in-plane component 451 oriented parallel to the plane of thesense layer 21 and an out-of-plane component perpendicular to the plane of thesense layer 21 using themagnetic sensor cell 1 comprises the steps of sensing the in-plane component 451; and sensing the out-of-plane component 452. - Sensing the in-
plane component 451 can be performed using a conventional differential read operation. For example, the sensing operation can comprise passing the field current 41 having an alternating polarity into thefield line 4 such as to alternate thesense magnetization 210 between a direction substantially parallel and antiparallel to thereference layer magnetization 230. The alternating field current 41 can be such that the orientation of thesense magnetization 210 is alternated without being switched completely in the parallel or antiparallel direction. The in-plane component 451 is then sensed by measuring the resistance R (or voltage) of themagnetic tunnel junction 2 as a function of the field current 41. Such sensing operation is described in more details in patent applicationUS2013241536 by the present applicant. - Sensing the out-of-
plane component 452 depends on the initial orientation of thesense magnetization 210. In an embodiment wherein thesense magnetization 210 is initially oriented out-of-plane in the absence of the sensemagnetic field 42 andexternal field 45, sensing the out-of-plane component 452 comprises passing the field current 41 in thefield line 4 such that to align thesense magnetization 210 from its initial direction to an aligned direction being at least partly oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer 21 (i.e., parallel or antiparallel to the reference magnetization 230). In the example ofFig. 2 , the field current 41 enters the page such that themagnetic field 42 is directed towards the right hand side of the page such that the sense magnetization will be aligned by themagnetic field 42 in the same direction as thereference magnetization 230. - The value of the field current 41 required for saturating the
sense magnetization 210 is proportional to the norm of the out-of-plane component 452. Consequently, the values of the field current 41 required for saturating thesense magnetization 210 in the directions parallel and antiparallel to thereference magnetization 230 can be used for determining the norm of the out-of-plane component 452. In that case, it is required to fully saturate thesense layer magnetization 210 parallel and/or antiparallel to thereference magnetization 230. Alternatively, sensing the out-of-plane component 452 can comprise measuring a resistance R of themagnetic tunnel junction 2 and determining a slope of the measured resistance R as a function of the read field current 41; and determining the magnitude of the out-of-plane component 452 using the determined slope. In that latter variant, thesense magnetization 210 can be aligned partly oriented parallel or antiparallel to thereference magnetization 230. -
Fig. 6 shows the variation of the resistance R of themagnetic tunnel junction 2 as a function of the field current 41 for three different magnitude of the out-of-plane component 452 (corresponding to three different sense magnetizations 210 oriented out-of-plane). In particular, the dashed line corresponds to the case of the largest out-of-plane component 452 having the highest field current 41 required for saturating the sense magnetization 210 (or saturating current iS2). The dotted line corresponds to themagnetic tunnel junction 2 sensing a smaller out-of-plane component 452 and has a lower saturating current iS1. The plain line corresponds to the magnetic tunnel where the out-of-plane component 452 is null and has the lowest saturating current iS0. However, the value of the field current 41 does not allow determining the direction of the out-of-plane component 452. - In another embodiment shown in
Fig. 5 , themagnetic tunnel junction 2 further comprises abias layer 25 having abias magnetization 250 oriented out-of-plane, i.e., perpendicular to the plane of the bias layer 25 (and thus to the plane of the sense layer 21). Thebias layer 25 generates a biasmagnetic field 252 on thesense layer 21, also oriented perpendicular to thesense layer 21 plane. - The
bias layer 25 can comprise any one of or a combination of Fe, Co, Ni, Tb, Pt, Pd, Al, Dy, Ga, Mn, Ho, Nd or Sm, FePt, FePd, CoPt, CoPd, GdFeCo, TbFeCo, GaMn, GeMn or AlMn. Alternatively, thebias layer 25 can comprise theferromagnetic layer 211 and thenon-magnetic layer 212 as described above. Thebias layer 25 can further comprise aninsulating layer 213. Thebias layer 25 should have an anisotropy as large as possible and have an hysteresis loop that present a significant remnant magnetization in the out-of-plane direction. - The
bias magnetization 250 can be oriented out-of-plane during the fabrication of themagnetic tunnel junction 2, for example, by applying a magnetic field perpendicularly to thebias layer 25 when depositing thebias layer 25, or during the annealing of the stack, or after annealing the stack. Thebias layer 25 can be further pinned by anantiferromagnetic layer 26. In that case, the perpendicular magnetic field is applied when the magnetic tunnel junction is heated at a temperature lying above the blocking temperature of theantiferromagnetic layer 26. - In the case where the bias
magnetic field 252 is parallel to the out-of-plane component 452, the value of the field current 41 required for saturating thesense magnetization 210 in the aligned orientation (or saturation current is) is increased compared to the case where the biasmagnetic field 252 is null. Conversely, when the biasmagnetic field 252 is antiparallel to the out-of-plane component 452, the value of the saturation current is is decreased compared to the case where the biasmagnetic field 252 is null. -
Fig. 7 shows the variation of the resistance R of themagnetic tunnel junction 2 as a function of the field current 41 for three differentperpendicular components 452 for themagnetic tunnel junction 2 ofFig. 5 . The dashed line with the highest saturating current iS2 corresponds to the case where theperpendicular component 452 is parallel to the biasmagnetic field 252. The dotted line with the lowest saturating current iS1 corresponds to the case where theperpendicular component 452 is antiparallel to the biasmagnetic field 252. The plain line corresponding to theperpendicular component 452 being null exhibits an intermediate value of the saturating current iS0. -
Figs. 8 and 9 show the relation between the absolute value of the saturation current is as a function of the out-of-plane component 452 (represented by the symbol H┴ inFigs. 8 and 9 ) in the absence of the bias layer 25 (Fig. 8 ) and in the presence of the bias magnetic field 252 (Fig. 9 ). InFig. 8 , the minimum value of the saturation current is corresponds to the out-of-plane component 452 being null (H┴ = 0) and the absolute value of the saturation current is does not allow determining the direction of the out-of-plane component 452. InFig. 9 , the minimum value of the saturation current is is shifted by a value corresponding to the bias magnetic field 252 (represented by the symbol H┴ bias) such that the saturation current is varies in a monotonic fashion around the null out-of-plane component 452 (H┴ = 0). Provided a calibration curve relating the saturation current is to known values of the out-of-plane component 452 has been established for themagnetic sensor cell 1, the direction and the magnitude of the out-of-plane component 452 can be determined by comparing the saturating current is with a calibrated value of the calibration curve. Using themagnetic sensor cell 1 ofFig. 5 , the direction of the out-of-plane component 452 can be determined when the out-of-plane component 452 has a magnitude that is lower than the magnitude of the biasmagnetic field 252. - Since the
perpendicular component 452 changes the sensitivity of themagnetic tunnel junction 2 to the in-plane component 451, the out-of-plane component 452 is preferably measured prior to the measurement of the in-plane component 451, so that the change of sensitivity due to the out-of-plane component is known. That allows sensing the in-plane component 451 using a calibration curve relating the change of sensitivity as a function of the out-of-plane component 452. - Using the configuration of
Fig. 5 , sensing the in-plane component 451 can further comprise passing the field current 41 for saturating thesense layer magnetization 210 with a first polarity; passing the field current 41 for saturating thesense layer magnetization 210 with a second polarity opposed to the first polarity; and determining the difference between the field current 41 having the first and second polarity. - In the case the
sense layer 21 comprisesnon-magnetic layer 212 andferromagnetic layer 211, the composition and thickness of thenon-magnetic layer 212 andferromagnetic layer 211 can be adjusted such as to vary the value of the saturating current is. The value of the saturating current is can be further varied by adjusting the oxidation state of the insulatinglayer 213 or of thenon-magnetic layer 212. The insulatinglayer 213 can be used as a tunnel barrier. For example, inFig. 17 the insulatinglayer 213 can replace thetunnel barrier layer 22 ofFig. 2 . In any case, thetunnel barrier layer 22, or insulatinglayer 213, should be in contact with thesense layer 21. Alternatively, the composition and thickness of thebarrier tunnel 22 can be adjusted such as to vary the value of the saturating current is. - In another embodiment, the
sense magnetization 210 is initially oriented in-plane and parallel or antiparallel to thereference magnetization 230. Sensing the out-of-plane component 452 can comprise passing the field current 41 in thefield line 4 such as to align thesense magnetization 210 from its initial direction to a substantially aligned direction being oriented out-of-plane. Sensing the out-of-plane component 452 can further comprise measuring an intermediate resistance Rint of themagnetic tunnel junction 2 and determining the current 41 required to saturate thesense magnetization 210 in the aligned direction. The intermediate resistance Rint corresponds to thesense magnetization 210 being oriented out-of-plane, i.e., perpendicular to thestorage magnetization 230. Here, the intermediate resistance Rint is equal to (Rmin+Rmax)/2, where Rmin and Rmax is the resistance of themagnetic tunnel junction 2 when the sense magnetization is oriented, respectively, parallel and antiparallel to thestorage magnetization 230. - In an embodiment shown in
Figs. 10 to 12 , thefield line 4 comprises a first line portion 4' adapted for passing a first field current portion 41' and asecond line portion 4" for passing a second fieldcurrent portion 41". The first and second fieldcurrent portion 41', 41" are arranged in a direction parallel to the plane of thesense layer 21. In this configuration, the sensemagnetic field 42 is generated by the first and second fieldcurrent portions 41', 41". - In the example of
Fig. 10 , the first field current portion 41' and the second fieldcurrent portion 41" have the same polarity. The sensemagnetic field 42 generated by the first and second fieldcurrent portions 41', 41" having the same polarity comprises only theparallel component 421. - In the examples of
Figs. 11 and 12 , the first field current portion 41' has a polarity being opposed to the one of the second fieldcurrent portion 41". Passing the first field current portion 41' with a magnitude being equal to the one of the second fieldcurrent portion 41" results in the sensemagnetic field 42 having only the perpendicular component 422 (seeFig. 11). Fig. 12 shows the sensemagnetic field 42 having theparallel component 421 and theperpendicular component 422 when the first field current portion 41' has a magnitude that differs from the one of the second fieldcurrent portion 41". In the particular example ofFig. 12 , the magnitude of the first field current portion 41' is larger than the one of the second fieldcurrent portion 41" and theparallel component 421 is directed toward the right (the sensemagnetic field 42 is oriented oblique towards the right). - An advantage of the external
magnetic field 42 having a parallel andperpendicular component plane component 451 can be measured with improved sensitivity, independently of the magnitude of the magnitude of theperpendicular component 452. The out-of-plane component 452 can be sensed using the method described above. In particular, the first and second fieldcurrent portions 41' and 41" can be adjusted so that, , in the absence of thebias layer 25, theperpendicular component 422 has an amplitude that is substantially equal to theperpendicular component 452 but is oriented in a direction opposite to the one of theperpendicular component 452 such as to cancel out theperpendicular component 452. In the presence of thebias layer 25, theperpendicular component 422 has an amplitude that is substantially equal to the sum of thebias field 252 and theperpendicular component 452 and is oriented in a direction opposite to the one of the sum of thebias field 252 and theperpendicular component 452 such as to cancel out theperpendicular component 452 and thebias field 252. The in-plane component 421 can thus be sensed by adjusting thesense currents 41 and 41' such that the in-plane component 421 alternatively aligns thesense magnetization 210 in a direction substantially parallel and antiparallel to thereference magnetization 230 using the self-reference read operation described above. - In an embodiment shown in
Fig. 13 , thefield line 4 further comprises a thirdfield line portion 4"' arranged for passing a third field current portion 41'''. In this configuration, the sensemagnetic field 42 is generated by the first, second and third fieldcurrent portions 41', 41", 41"'. In the example ofFig. 13 , the first field current portions 41' is passed with a polarity being opposed to the one of the second and third fieldcurrent portions 41", 41"' such that the sensemagnetic field 42 has a non-nullparallel component 421 andperpendicular component 422. - A
magnetic sensor device 100 can comprise a plurality of themagnetic sensor cell 1 arranged in an array of rows and columns. In the embodiment illustrated inFig. 14 , themagnetic sensor device 100 comprises a plurality of thefield line portions 4', 4" arranged parallel to the rows or columns such that a row or column ofmagnetic sensor cells 1 is addressed by two adjacentfield line portions 4', 4". Each of said two adjacentfield line portions 4', 4" are arranged such that the field current 41 can be passed independently in one of said two adjacentfield line portions 4', 4" and in the other of said two adjacentfield line portions 4', 4". In the example ofFig. 14 , eachfield line portion 4', 4" can be addressed independently via commutation means, illustrated astransistors 8. - One of said two adjacent
field line portions 4', 4" is arranged for passing a first field current portion 41' with a first polarity and the other of said two adjacentfield line portions 4" is arranged for passing a second fieldcurrent portion 41" with second polarity, opposed to the first polarity, such as to generate the sensemagnetic field 42 directed perpendicular to the plane of thesense layer 21; or being the same as the first polarity such as to generate the sensemagnetic field 42 directed parallel to the plane of thesense layer 21. - In the embodiment illustrated in
Fig. 15 , the two adjacentfield line portions 4', 4" are electrically connected in series via a commutation means, here a conductive line branch in series with a transistor 9 such that the first and second fieldcurrent portions 41', 41" can be passed respectively in the twoadjacent field lines 4', 4" with the same polarity, or with opposed polarity. - In yet another embodiment illustrated in
Fig. 16 , a third field line portion 4'" extends parallel to the first and secondfield line portions 4', 4". In this arrangement, the first and second fieldcurrent portions 41', 41" can be passed respectively in the twoadjacent field lines 4', 4" with opposed polarities such as to generate the sensemagnetic field 42 directed perpendicular to the plane of thesense layer 21. A third fieldcurrent portion 41"' can be passed in the third field line portions 4'" such as to generate the sensemagnetic field 42 directed parallel to the plane of thesense layer 21. - In an embodiment, a first portion of the
sensor device 100 array comprises a subset of the plurality of thesensor cell 1 arranged for sensing the out-of-plane component 452, and a second portion of thesensor device 100 array comprises another subset of the plurality of thesensor cell 1 arranged for sensing the in-plane component 451. For example, thesensor cells 1 in the second subset are turned at 90° compared to thesensor cells 1 comprised in the first subset. Here, the expression "turned at 90°" means that thesensor cell 1 is turned with an angle of about 90° about a longitudinal axis 11 (seeFig. 2 ). In the configuration ofFig. 2 , thestorage magnetization 230 and the direction of the sense magnetization 42 (the parallel component 421) of thesensor cells 1 in the second subset will be oriented at about 90° with respect to thestorage magnetization 230 andsense magnetization 42 of thesensor cells 1 in the first subset. In the case where the in-plane component of the externalmagnetic field 45 comprise a component 451' oriented in the plane of the in-plane component 451 but perpendicular to it (seeFig. 2 ), the component 451' can be measured by thesensor cells 1 in the second subset and thecomponent 451 can be measured by thesensor cells 1 in the first subset. The in-plane component 451, 451' can be measured by using the differential read operation described above. -
- 1
- magnetic sensor cell
- 11
- longitudinal axis
- 100
- magnetic sensor device
- 2
- magnetic tunnel junction
- 21
- sense layer
- 210
- sense magnetization
- 211
- ferromagnetic layer
- 212
- non-magnetic layer
- 213
- insulating layer
- 22
- tunnel barrier layer
- 23
- reference layer
- 230
- reference magnetization
- 25
- bias layer
- 250
- bias magnetization
- 252
- bias magnetic field
- 26
- antiferromagnetic layer
- 3
- current line
- 32
- sense current
- 4
- field line
- 4'
- first line portion
- 4"
- second line portion
- 4"'
- third line portion
- 41
- field current
- 41'
- first field current portion
- 41"
- second field current portion
- 41'"
- third field current portion
- 42
- sense magnetic field
- 421
- parallel component
- 422
- perpendicular component
- 45
- external magnetic field
- 451
- in-plane component of 45
- 452
- out-of-plane component of 45
- 8, 9
- transistor
- H┴
- out-of-plane component of 45
- H┴ bias
- magnetic field
- iS
- saturating current
- MS
- saturation magnetization of the sense layer
- R
- resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction
- R1
- first resistance
- R2
- second resistance
Claims (15)
- Method for sensing an external magnetic field (45) using a magnetic sensor cell (1) comprising:a magnetic tunnel junction (2) including a reference layer (23) having a reference magnetization (230) oriented substantially parallel to the plane of the reference layer (23), a sense layer (21) having a sense magnetization (210), and a tunnel barrier layer (22) between the sense and reference layers (21, 23); and a field line (4) configured for passing a field current (41) for providing a sense magnetic field (42) adapted for aligning the sense magnetization (210); the sense layer magnetization (210) being orientable between a direction parallel to the plane of the sense layer (21) and a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer (21) when the sense magnetic field (42) is provided;the external magnetic field (45) comprising an in-plane component (451) oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer (21) and an out-of-plane component (452) perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer (21); characterized in that the method comprises:characterized in that the step of sensing the out-of-plane component comprises determining exclusively the out-of-plane component, such that for sensing the in-plane component a calibration curve relating the change of sensitivity as a function of the out-of-plane component can be used.sensing the out-of-plane component (452); andsensing the in-plane component (451),
- The method according to claim 1,
wherein the sense magnetization (210) is initially oriented perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer (21); and
wherein said sensing the out-of-plane component (452) comprises passing the field current (41) for providing the sense magnetic field (42) with a parallel component (421) parallel to the plane of the sense layer (21) such as to align the sense magnetization (210) from its initial direction to an aligned direction being at least partly oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer (21). - The method according to claim 2,
further comprising measuring a resistance (R) of the magnetic tunnel junction (2) and determining a slope of the measured resistance (R) as a function of the field current (41); and determining the magnitude of the out-of-plane component (452) using the determined slope. - The method according to claim 2,
wherein the field current (41) is such that the aligned direction of the sense magnetization (210) is saturated, respectively, parallel or perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer (21); and
wherein the method further comprises determining the magnitude of the out-of-plane component (452) using the value of the field current (41) for saturating the sense magnetization (210). - The method according to claim 4
wherein the magnetic tunnel junction (2) further comprises a bias layer (25) generating a bias magnetic field (252) perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer (21); and
wherein the method further comprises determining a direction of the out-of-plane component (452) using the value of the field current (41) for saturating the sense magnetization (210) or determining a slope of the measured resistance (R) as a function of the field current (41) and comparing this value to a calibrated value of field current (41) for a known out-of-plane component (452). - The method according to claim 1
wherein the sense magnetization (210) is initially oriented parallel to the plane of the sense layer (21); and
wherein said sensing the out-of-plane component (452) comprises passing the field current (41) for providing the sense magnetic field (42) with a perpendicular component (422) perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer (21) such as to saturate the sense magnetization (210) from its initial direction to a saturated direction being oriented perpendicular to the plane of the sense layer (21). - The method according to claim 6
further comprising determining a direction and magnitude of the out-of-plane component (452) using the magnitude of the field current (41) required for saturating the sense magnetization (210) and measuring an intermediate resistance (Rint) of the magnetic tunnel junction (2) when the sense magnetization (210) is in the saturated direction. - The method according to any one of claim 1 to 7,
wherein sensing the out-of-plane component (452) is performed prior to sensing the in-plane component (451). - The method according to claim 8
wherein sensing the in-plane component (451) comprises using a calibration curve relating a change of sensitivity of the magnetic tunnel junction (2) to the in-plane component (451) to the out-of-plane component (452). - The method according to any one of claim 1 to 9,
wherein said sensing the in-plane component (451) comprises:passing the field current (41) for providing the sense magnetic field (42) with the parallel component (421), the field current (41) having a first magnitude and a first polarity such as to saturate the sense magnetization (210) parallel to the reference magnetization (230);passing the field current (41) for providing the sense magnetic field (42) with the parallel component (421), the field current (41) having a second magnitude and a second polarity opposed to the first polarity such as to saturate the sense magnetization (210) antiparallel to the reference magnetization (230);comparing the first and second magnitudes of the field current (41). - The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
wherein the field line (4) comprises a first line portion (4') for passing a first field current (41') and a second line portion (4") for passing a second field current (41"), the first and second line portions (4', 4") being arranged parallel to the plane of the sense layer (21); and
wherein said passing a field current (41) comprises passing the first and second field current portions (41', 41"). - The method according to claim 11,
wherein the first and second field current portions (41', 41") are passed with the same polarity such that the sense magnetic field (42) comprises only the parallel component (421). - The method according to claim11,
wherein the first field current portion (41') has a polarity that is opposed to the one of the second field current portion (41"); and
wherein the first and second field current portions (41', 41") are passed with the same magnitude such that the sense magnetic field (42) comprises only the perpendicular component (422). - The method according to claim11,
wherein the first field current portion (41') has a polarity that is opposed to the one of the second field current portion (41"); and
wherein the magnitude of the first field current portion (41') differs from the one of the second field current portion (41") such that the sense magnetic field (42) comprises the parallel component (421) and the perpendicular component (422). - The method according to claim 14,
wherein the magnitudes of the first and second field current portions (41', 41") are such that the magnitude and direction of the perpendicular component (422) cancels out the perpendicular component (452).
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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EP13290243.8A EP2860542B1 (en) | 2013-10-11 | 2013-10-11 | Method for measuring three-dimensional magnetic fields |
BR112016007514A BR112016007514A2 (en) | 2013-10-11 | 2014-10-01 | method for three-dimensional measurement of magnetic fields |
US15/028,103 US9983275B2 (en) | 2013-10-11 | 2014-10-01 | Method for measuring three-dimensional magnetic fields |
PCT/EP2014/071107 WO2015052062A1 (en) | 2013-10-11 | 2014-10-01 | Method for measuring three-dimensional magnetic fields |
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EP13290243.8A EP2860542B1 (en) | 2013-10-11 | 2013-10-11 | Method for measuring three-dimensional magnetic fields |
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EP2860542A1 EP2860542A1 (en) | 2015-04-15 |
EP2860542B1 true EP2860542B1 (en) | 2016-04-20 |
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EP13290243.8A Active EP2860542B1 (en) | 2013-10-11 | 2013-10-11 | Method for measuring three-dimensional magnetic fields |
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US (1) | US9983275B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2860542B1 (en) |
BR (1) | BR112016007514A2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2015052062A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US9841469B2 (en) | 2016-01-26 | 2017-12-12 | Nxp Usa, Inc. | Magnetic field sensor with multiple sense layer magnetization orientations |
US9897667B2 (en) * | 2016-01-26 | 2018-02-20 | Nxp Usa, Inc. | Magnetic field sensor with permanent magnet biasing |
US9739842B2 (en) | 2016-01-26 | 2017-08-22 | Nxp Usa, Inc. | Magnetic field sensor with skewed sense magnetization of sense layer |
US10545196B2 (en) | 2016-03-24 | 2020-01-28 | Nxp Usa, Inc. | Multiple axis magnetic sensor |
US10145907B2 (en) | 2016-04-07 | 2018-12-04 | Nxp Usa, Inc. | Magnetic field sensor with permanent magnet biasing |
US9933496B2 (en) | 2016-04-21 | 2018-04-03 | Nxp Usa, Inc. | Magnetic field sensor with multiple axis sense capability |
JP6702034B2 (en) * | 2016-07-04 | 2020-05-27 | 株式会社デンソー | Magnetic sensor |
US10534047B2 (en) * | 2017-03-30 | 2020-01-14 | Qualcomm Incorporated | Tunnel magneto-resistive (TMR) sensors employing TMR devices with different magnetic field sensitivities for increased detection sensitivity |
JP7359696B2 (en) * | 2017-04-07 | 2023-10-11 | クロッカス・テクノロジー・ソシエテ・アノニム | Magnetic sensor cell for measuring one-dimensional and two-dimensional magnetic fields and method for measuring magnetic fields using the magnetic sensor cell |
EP3385741B1 (en) * | 2017-04-07 | 2019-12-18 | Crocus Technology S.A. | Magnetic sensor cell for measuring one- and two-dimensional magnetic fields and method for measuring said magnetic fields using the magnetic sensor cell |
US10852369B2 (en) | 2019-01-09 | 2020-12-01 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Stray field robust xMR sensor using perpendicular anisotropy |
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US20030235016A1 (en) * | 2002-06-19 | 2003-12-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | Stabilization structures for CPP sensor |
US7274080B1 (en) * | 2003-08-22 | 2007-09-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | MgO-based tunnel spin injectors |
DE102006022336B8 (en) * | 2006-02-28 | 2015-12-31 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Magnetic field sensor and sensor arrangement with the same |
FR2931011B1 (en) * | 2008-05-06 | 2010-05-28 | Commissariat Energie Atomique | MAGNETIC ELEMENT WITH THERMALLY ASSISTED WRITING |
US8378438B2 (en) * | 2008-12-04 | 2013-02-19 | Grandis, Inc. | Method and system for providing magnetic elements having enhanced magnetic anisotropy and memories using such magnetic elements |
US8432009B2 (en) * | 2010-12-31 | 2013-04-30 | Grandis, Inc. | Method and system for providing magnetic layers having insertion layers for use in spin transfer torque memories |
US20120299587A1 (en) * | 2011-05-26 | 2012-11-29 | Honeywell International Inc. | Three-axis magnetic sensors |
FR2976113B1 (en) * | 2011-06-06 | 2013-07-12 | Commissariat Energie Atomique | MAGNETIC DEVICE WITH COUPLING EXCHANGE |
US20140048895A1 (en) * | 2012-08-20 | 2014-02-20 | Industrial Technology Research Institute | Magnetic Tunnel Junction Device |
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2013
- 2013-10-11 EP EP13290243.8A patent/EP2860542B1/en active Active
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2014
- 2014-10-01 US US15/028,103 patent/US9983275B2/en active Active
- 2014-10-01 BR BR112016007514A patent/BR112016007514A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2014-10-01 WO PCT/EP2014/071107 patent/WO2015052062A1/en active Application Filing
Also Published As
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US20160252591A1 (en) | 2016-09-01 |
US9983275B2 (en) | 2018-05-29 |
BR112016007514A2 (en) | 2017-08-01 |
EP2860542A1 (en) | 2015-04-15 |
WO2015052062A1 (en) | 2015-04-16 |
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